Weak promises and under delivery are becoming common features of FG housing policies – O’Brien

Responding to the latest figures published on the number of social housing units built nationwide in the final quarter of 2018, Fianna Fáil’s Housing Spokesperson, Darragh O’Brien TD said, “Despite the flashy launches, the glossy document and regular announcements, the targets set out in RebuildingIreland have not been realised.

“The fact is that even though 4,251 public homes were constructed by Local Authorities and approved housing bodies last year the Government couldn’t achieve its promises. Even with 2,214 acquisitions the Minister missed his own target.

“These promises, clearly made in exchange for headlines, represented a great deal of hope to those on the streets or to the families struggling in hidden homelessness. It was hope that has now been once again dashed. It’s as though this Government are more focused on garnering publicity than actually accelerating the development of social homes.

“When my colleagues and I flagged our concerns regarding the poor pace of delivery, we were assured we had no reason to be; that those most in need of permanent public housing would be in a home in a reasonable time frame.

“The figures released overnight certainly won’t have brought any degree of comfort or optimism to the more than 110,000 people desperate for public housing support. Minister Eoghan Murphy needs to detail when these new units will be ready for occupancy.

“There has been a tendency in the past for the Department to massage numbers related to housing units. I take that hugely seriously given that these figures represent people’s lives after all. I will be seeking a detailed breakdown on a Local Authority basis when the Minister is before the Oireachtas next week,” he concluded.